


How Was I To Know?

by donsboy



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Heavy Angst, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Sadness, friends - Freeform, unrequieted love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-10
Updated: 2017-01-10
Packaged: 2018-09-16 15:55:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9278840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/donsboy/pseuds/donsboy
Summary: The guys make a new friend, but lose him because of his feelings for Jack.





	

Some people you meet in life are definitely unforgetable. Pete Nelson was just such a person. Every time Jack thought of Pete, it made him sad. Jack always thought that if he'd paid a bit more attention, and had listened to Pete, things might have turned out better than they did. It all started one May afternoon when he and Mac pulled into the parking lot of the apartments and saw this little guy trying to carry way too many boxes up the stairs. Jack and Mac offered to give the guy a hand, and he gratefully accepted. The two mwn followed Pete to his apartment which just happened to be three doors down from theirs.

Once the boxes were sat down on the floor, introductions were made. Jack shook hands with Pete and said; “I'm Jack Dalton, and this is my partner Angus MacGyver, but we just call him Mac.....”

“My name is Pete Nelson,and I'm pleased to meet you guys....”

“So where are you from, Pete?”

“I'm from a little town in East Texas called Miller's Crossing......”

The conversation turned to other things,and Jack offered to help Pete finish unloading his truck. Mac, Jac, and Pete had the truck unloaded in no time, and Mac invited Pete to come down to their apartment and have dinner with them. Pete accepted the invitation, and asked when he should come. Mac told him to give them about an hour, and dinner would be ready. He said he would see them then, and the guys took their leave.

As soon as Pete freshened up and put a few things away, he headed to see Jack and Mac. He knocked on the front door and Jack answered. The two men said their hellos, and Jack asked if Pete wanted a beer. Pete hesitated for a moment and told Jack that he appreciated the offer, but that he didn't drink. Jack asked if he would like a soda or some water, and Pete said a soda would be fine. Jack went to the kitchen and got himself a beer and a soda for Pete. The two men talked while Mac was finishing up in the kitchen. When he was finished, Mac went into the living room to join the conversation.

Mac asked what Pete did for a living, and Pete replied that he recorded books on tape and also edited manuscripts that were submitted for publishing. Jack asked if it was boring, and Pete laughed, saying that it was anything but boring because of some of the submissions he received for editing. Pete asked they guys what they did for a living, and both replied that they were part of a 'think tank' called the Phoenix Foundation. Pete asked what they did there, and Mac replied that they both were in administration. Jack changed the subject by asking Pete what made him decide to move to California. Pete got quiet and simply said that he moved to California because the relationship he'd been in had ended, and he was looking for a new start. Jack could tell he'd touched a nerve, and felt like an ass for doing so.

Just then, Mac called them to the table because dinner was ready. As the three men ate, the conversation flowed well and Jack's faux pas from earlier seemed to have been forgotten. After dinner, Pete thanked them for dinner as he excused himself, saying he needed to get home and try to get some more unpacking done. Mac told him to stop by anytime, and Jack echoed the sentiment. Pete thanked them and left. After Pete had gone, Jack was helping Mac clean the kitchen when Jack asked; “What do you think of Pete, babe?”

“He seems like a nice guy. A bit shy, but a nice guy nonetheless..... what do you think of him?”

“I like him. I do feel like an ass for asking him about why he moved to California.....”

“Why do you feel bad for asking that?”

“Because of his answer.....”

“Oh, yeah, I remember now.....”

The conversation turned to Jack wanting to get Mac naked and doing all sorts of fun things to him. When the kitchen was finished, it didn't take Mac long to get to the bedroom and get naked. Jack showed up shortly after and did all the things he promised Mac he would do, sand then some. A simple '69' turned into a full-fledged fuck session with both men spent and gasping, falling asleep entwined in each others' arms.

While Mac and Jack were enjoying each other, Pete was sitting on his sofa thinking about Jack. He knew he shouldn't be thinking about someone else's man, but he couldn't help himself. Though he'd just met the man, he felt a stirring deep inside that he hadn't felt in a very long time. Jack Dalton seemed to be everything Pete had looked for in a man. It truly was a shame that he was taken. Though he knew he shouldn't, he masturbated to the image of Jack as the star of his fantasy. 

As time allowed, the guys spent time with Pete. They discovered that he had a wicked sense of humor, and that he was a lot of fun to be around. This was fine for a while,but it was getting harder and harder for Pete to be around the guys because of Jack. Pete was falling head over heels for Jack,and as far as he knew, no one knew it but him, or so he thought. One night a few months after Pete and the guys had started hanging out, Mac was quietly watching what was starting to unfold before him. He's noticed that Pete seemed to hang on Jack's every word, and to Mac's mind that could only mean one thing: Pete wanted Jack. Mac decided to talk to Jack and see if he was noticing the same things Mac was.

After Pete went back to his apartment that night, Mac asked Jack if they could talk......

“Sure, babe, what's on your mind?”

“It's about Pete.....”

“What about him?”

“Have you noticed how he's been acting around you lately?”

“Not really.... what's he doing?”

“It's little things,really. He hangs on your every word, he defers to you when he has a problem. In short, Jack, the man has feelings for you.....”

“Ahh, bullshit......”

“You don't believe me, do you?”

“No, I don't! I think you are just jealous.......”

“Be that as it may, you just watch what I'm saying.....”

A couple of weeks later, Jack walked down the hall to Pete's apartment to invite him to do out with he and Jack. It took a while for Pete to answer the door, and when he did, Jack was taken aback at his friend's appearance. Pete stood in the doorway, and turned Jack's invitation down. Jack asked how he had been, and Pete was a bit evasive, claiming that he'd been bogged down with work. Jack accepted Pete's excuse and told him they could go out another time if he wanted. Pete told Jack that maybe they could go sometime next week. Jack said that would be fine, and told Pete that if he needed anything not to hesitate to gt in touch. Pete thanked him and closed the door.

Jack went back to his apartment and told Mac that Pete had turned him down about going out that night. He went on to say that Pete didn't look too good,and that as soon as they were finished talking, Pete just closed the door in Jack's face. Mac said that maybe he was just tired, and needed to rest. Jack didn't say anything, just went to get dressed. They guys had dinner and decided to go to one of the dance clubs. They had a very good time, and toward the end of the evening, Jack made his intentions as to what he wanted to do to Mac when they got home.

Whatever Jack had planned for Mac went straight out the window when they pulled into their apartment parking lot. There were police cars and an ambulance. The guys were curious as to what was going on, and were held back by police officers when they tried to get to their apartment. Jack immediately panicked when he saw the EMTs wheel the gurney out of Pete's apartment. He stood there in shock as he saw that the body was covered from head to toe, and that the sheet was really bloody up where the head would have been.

As soon as the ambulance pulled away, Mac asked one of the officers what was going on. The officer explained that it was an apparent suicide. When Mac asked which apartment it happened in, the officer responded that it was apartment 312. Upon hearing that, Jack sat down on the curb. The officer asked if they knew the occupant, and Mac said the man's name was Pete Nelson, and that he had been a friend of theirs. The officer asked if there was any next-of-kin, and Mac replied that Pete had never spoke of any. Soon, the officer gave the all-clear so that people could get back to their apartments. By this time, Jack was in something of a state of shock, and Mac wasn't faring too much better.

Once inside, the two men held each other long into the night, trying to comfort each other regarding the loss of their friend. In the wee hours of the morning, they fell asleep in each others' arms, hearts heavy with unanswered questions. When they finally got out of bed the next morning, Mac was in the kitchen making coffee, and Jack had gone to get the mail. There were the usual bills and adverts, and when Jack reached the bottom of the stack, he stopped and stood there looking at the familiar handwriting. When he got back upstairs, he opened the envelope. There was a single sheet, and Jack began to read......  
Jack,   
I know I owe you an explanation, but I'm going to tell you the truth instead.  
I did this because I was in love with you, and I couldn't stand the fact that you would never be able to love me back. Don't misunderstand, Mac is a great guy, and he's very lucky to have you. Jack, please don't think badly of me, I felt this was the only way to ease the pain of loving you.......   
Pete

Jack re-read the letter through the tears in his eyes, marveling at the fact that another human being had destroyed themselves just because of him and their feeling for him. Mac sat down at the table, and asked Jack what was wrong. Jack never said a word, he just handed the letter to Mac. When Mac finished reading it, he put the letter back in the envelope and took Jack's hand......

“Baby, you can't blame yourself for what happened......”

“I know, Mac, but I should have seen the signs. If I had, maybe I could have talked to him and let him know that even though I couldn't feel the same, I still could have been a friend.....”

“I know, babe, but some things happen for a reason.....”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, say you had tried to talk to him..... it might have helped, but then again, it might have made things worse..... but my point is this: how could you talk to him about this if you didn't know?”

“I see what you mean.....”

“Look at it this way, Jack.... you were the best friend to Pete that you could be, and just leave it at that.”

THE END


End file.
